ISABELLE'S TASK
by ASHIGGS33
Summary: Isabelle has a task to complete, but she can't tell her family. And when will they stop treating her like a child? An immature one at that.
1. Chapter 1

"It's nearly 4:30 in the morning! Where the hell is she?" Alec Lightwood paced back and forth, observed by his boyfriend, Jace, and Clary.

Magnus attempted to calm his panicky boyfriend. "Darling, she's technically an adult now. If she wants to stay out late, you can't stop her."

"Like hell I can't! She's my _baby sister_," he practically hissed through clenched teeth.

Jace stretched lazily and put one arm around Clary before offering his Parabatai a small smile. "Alec. Chill. You know how Izzy is. She probably crashed at a friend's place." But anyone who knew Jace could see the brotherly instinct rearing its head.

Alec turned to face them all. "_We all know that's not what what she's doing_. She's out partying and drinking and," he took a deep breath, "probably hooking up with someone. Again. We can't let her keep doing this. I'm her big brother, for angel's sake. I'm supposed to protect her. Keep her out of trouble."

For the first time, Clary spoke up, "Alec. This is normal. I mean we're young. Izzy is 20. It's only natural that she goes out and..." Clary blushed, "explores and has fun."

Jace grimaced, rethinking his previous statement, "Ya know, I think I actually agree with Alec on this. She's never home. When she is, she's tired. She doesn't want to tell us where she's going. Maybe her partying habits have gone to far. We should talk to her."

Clary and Magnus exchanged looks. They both knew that if Alec and Jace let their brotherly instincts over take them, the results would not be pretty. No matter how good the intentions, Izzy would flip. No... Izzy would...well "flip" was the understatement of the year.

Just then, Isabelle Lightwood walked into the library.


	2. Chapter 2

Isabelle Lightwood yawned. She was exhausted. The night had been demanding both physically and mentally. But she needed to know. Now. She went to the weapons room to disarm and disarmour. After she was free of the slightly restraining leather she bounded toward the library. She ran into the room and stopped, panting, and took in her surroundings.

_Shit._

"ISABELLE LIGHTWOOD. WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?"

She winced. Fantastic. Not only was her brother up, but he had the entire entourage backing him. This was soo not what she needed right now. What she needed was a hot bath with some tea or maybe cocoa. She snapped back to reality as her brother's shrill voice pierced her ears.

"-irresponsible. So worried! You can't keep going like this!"

Isabelle blinked. "Like what?"

Jace stepped forward, scowling. "Izzy, you go out every night. You don't come home until 4 most nights. We're worried," he said as his voice softened.

Alec continued, "The partying has to stop."

Isabelle willed herself not to scream before she replied. "Alec, Jace. I appreciate your brotherly concern but it's not necessary. REALLY," she added as her brothers opened their mouths to argue. "And I haven't been partying. I was...er..."

Magnus shifted uncomfortably on the couch. "Bells, come on. We all know you've been partying it up. A bunch of contacts have told me they've seen you at all the clubs. And leaving with different guys. Not to mention you reek of booze."

She felt sick. "Magnus, I thought you were better than that." Glaring at her brother, she yelled, "And Alec, using your boyfriend to spy on me?"

Clary looked flustered, but spoke none the less. "Iz, we're just concerned."

Alec looked straight at her, knowing she could never look into anyone's eyes and lie. "Is this because of the break up? Are you lonely?"

Isabelle couldn't take it anymore. The research would have to wait until morning. With a final string of obscenities that made even Jace cringe, she strode out of the room.

Magnus looked at Alex. "Well, that went well, considering."

Alec put hand over his mouth in that way that stressed people do when they're trying not to sigh. He and Jace would get to the bottom of this, whether Izzy killed them or not.


	3. Chapter 3

Isabelle threw herself face down on the bed before covering her mouth with a pillow so she could scream in frustration, unheard. She grabbed her ipod, one of the few mundane items she owned, and strapped the headphones over her hers. She lay back on the bed, breathing deeply. She knew they were just looking out for her. It was kind of sweet in a way. And then in another, it was plain annoying. She supposed she was lucky that Simon, her ex wasn't there. He would probably use his soft, delicate voice while trying to calm her. He would probably think it was the break up that was making her act like this. She grimaced. That was the last thing she needed. If Simon actually thought he was the cause of her late night jaunts into demon hidey-holes and clubs she would beat the crap out of him quicker than you could say "take out from Taki's."

And then her brother asking if it was because she was lonely. She could practically spit venom, she was so angry. Granted, she was lonely. But what made them think that drinking and whoring it up would be her way of dealing with it? True, she had smelled like beer but only because some moron had spilled his on her earlier in the night.

_Hell. I wish I was drinking and whoring around. It would be way easier than what I am doing._

She thought back to what she _really _had been doing at the clubs these past few months. She thought of the reason she was doing it. She chuckled under her breath. Her family would die if they knew she had been assigned a particularly...challenging task by the Clave. That she was demon hunting, alone. Her father would probably get ALec and Jace and then they'd run to the Clave to yell at the members. She laughed again, it was hard to imagine anyone yelling at the Clave, let alone her father and brothers. Her mother would sternly stare at Isabelle until she would quietly ask her what had made Isabelle take on the task alone. Only Max would have appreciated the adventure. Max was gone, she reminded herself. After she completed this mission, she was determined to track down Sebastian and finally _make him pay._ But that was far off.

She went through the hunt she had been on this evening. She had been chasing κακό χώρου. Literally translated, "evil incarnate." She had chased it from one club to the next but it had out run her but not before it had managed to injure her. Again. Despite having tracked down another Greater Demon, Isabelle was still fairly new at hunting alone for such fearsome kills. She had killed another Greater Demon that had been chronicled and named by the ancient Greeks. Μία που κρύβεται στη σκιά, translated as One Who Lurks in the Shadows. It had nearly killed her. She winced as she felt the phantom bite that had only recently healed. She winced again as she flexed and felt the bruises and cuts as well as the fractured ribs. Compared to Μία που κρύβεται στη σκιά, κακό χώρου was a walk in the park. She remembered how much she wanted to tell her family about her triumph, especially when they had learned of the demon's demise. She smugly remembered Jace's jaw dropping and Alec looking up in surprise as Clary asked why it was such a big deal. "Because," Jace replied, "It was mythically impossible to kill." Directed toward Izzy, "Who? Who pulled it off?" At that point the need to scream that she, Isabelle Lightwood had single handedly vanquished a demon, was nearly to strong to deny. So she had simply replied, "Oh, some Shadow Hunter. The Clave won't release who it was." She had then walked to her room much like she had just done.

Sighing she got up and padded lightly to her bathroom. She gently peeled off the black, blood soaked shirt that had begun to stick to her wounds. She gasped. She squeezed her eyes shut and turned the warm water on. She stepped in and inhaled sharply when the stinging pellets hit her injuries. This in turn caused her ribs to practically split with pain. She had a deep gashes on her stomach, thigh, and back. No, more like someone had taken a carving knife to a ham and hadn't finished cutting off a piece. She heard the pieces of gravel fall to the tile with a _plop plop plop. _She moaned. This would have to be quick if she wasn't going to pass out from pain. Thank god the others hadn't seen these wounds. She only hoped she would be able to draw the healing _iratzes _on her back and stomach well enough to work.


	4. Chapter 4

When she thought she had gotten most of the grit from her body, Isabelle turned off the water and stepped out of the shower, wrapping herself in the fluffiest, whitest towel she owned. She ground her teeth together, ignoring the pain. She thanked the Angel she kept an extra stele on her bedside table. As she patted herself dry, avoiding her injuries, she thought back to why she needed the library. The Greater Demon she was chasing supposedly needed to "feed" once a month or so one of the sprites at a party had told her. She wanted to scan the books in the library before she approached the Silent Brothers for access to the to avoid the creepy, ghost like monks. But she had to find out what the demon fed on. She had a pit in her stomach that told her it was something horrible like small children...or puppies. But she would look in the morning. She had to heal herself anyway.

She ambled over to her dresser, careful to not move to quickly. She picked out a pair of boyshorts underwear and the the black sports bra that matched. She saved pajamas for later. First she needed to heal herself. She walked back towards the bed and silently cursed. She had stained her white towel with blood from her injuries. She would clean it later. She picked up a stele and twisted her head, trying to get a better angle from which to draw the healing rune. Just then she heard a knock.

_Shit. Again. Tonight is just not my night._

"One sec!" She cried, panicking.

"Isabelle,let us in." It was Alec and most likely everyone else. Again. "That's it. We're coming in." Alec kicked down the door and stepped into the room followed by Jace, Clary, and Magnus.

"Iz, what the hell happened to you?" Alec, along with everyone else, was starring at her. Or her wounds to be more accurate. "WHAT'S GOING ON WITH YOU?"

Jace crossed his arms and came to stand next to Alec. "She's been demon hunting alone," he said dumbfoundedly.

Clary intervened before Alec could begin another rant. "Iz, we can deal with the rest later. Come on, let's get you to the infirmary."

"Clary, I appreciate your concern, but that's not necessary."

"Bells, you look like someone took a carving knife to you and," he looked down at the bloody towel, "you've obviously lost a lot of blood. You should be looked at." Magnus offered a tentative smile which she did not return.

Isabelle turned her back to the group and snatched up the towels. There were gasps, even from Jace. She cringed. She had just shown them her worst injuries, the ones on her back.

"By the Angel, Isabelle. Jace, take her to the infirmary. I'm going to send a fire message to mom and dad," Alec turned to Magnus. "Mag and Clary, please go with him."

Isabelle shivered slightly. Not only was her hair wet, but she hadn't healed her injuries yet and she was practically for show wearing nothing but her underwear. She was grateful that she had adopted the mundane habit of the Brazilian wax. But that was besides the point. Alec could not tell Robert and Maryse. The Clave would skin her alive. It had made her swear to try to keep her duty a secret to the best of her ability. She ran and stepped in front of the door, blocking the exit.

"You can't do that." She sighed. She would have to tell them. Or at least fill in the vital blanks. "If you wait for me, I'll talk to you in the library." Everyone hesistantly nodded and then began walking out to the hall as Iz moved aside. "Alec, wait. Please," she added softly. "Can you draw the healing iratze?"

He silently took the stele from her hands and motioned for her to turn around. She barely noticed the slight burn from the stele as Alec drew. He then took care of the injuries on her stomach and legs before setting the stele down. He walked towards the door, pausing before leaving. "Iz, you will explain yourself. We will wait for as long as it takes in the library."

She nodded. Once he had left she walked over to her dresser and picked a random drawer. She pulled out sweat pants and fraying hoodie. She pulled them on quickly and then piled her hair on top of her head in a messy bun.

Suddenly, she was exhausted. The last thing she felt doing was explaining herself, but she knew things would only be worse if she refused. She pinched the bridge of her nose as her back leaned against the wall. She drew a deep breath and then turned and began walking towards the library.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Izzy paused and starred at the door to the library.

_How do I explain this? What can I tell them to make them back off? If the Clave finds out that I've told them anything, I'll be forced to trial, maybe by the Sword. I swore on the Angel that I wouldn't tell. What the fuck do I do?_

She was torn. She wanted so desperately to tell them what was really going on. To erase the threads of pity for her that ran in each one of them. To make them realize she wasn't the sad fuck-up they thought her to be. Then she remembered the oath she had sworn before the Clave. She couldn't be torn. She couldn't even contemplate telling anybody anthing. It was just the way things had to be. Still, she had to come up with something. She bit her lip.

_Eff this. Why does everything in my life have to so goddamned complicated? _

She exhaled. She had to deal with this. No clear way out of this would present itself to her now. She pondered leaving right now. She wasn't sure they'd easily forgive her when she came back. No. She'd take care of it now. Drawing in a deep breath to steel herself and silently begging the Angel to help her, she pushed open the thick door that protected centuries of knowledge.

Everybody's heads turned to the door, their eyes settling on Isabelle as she made her way to the armchair on the left. She had never particularly cared for that seat but it was closest to the door and if she needed to get away quickly to avoid the Alec and Jace Inquisition she'd be able to. She sunk into the chair, gasping as she felt the sharp jab in her ribs. Their faces turned concern. Alec got up as if to help her. She held up a hand and finished lowering herself to the flat, uncomfortable seat as Alec retook his seat next to Magnus.

She opened her lips, her tongue perched on her teeth, not quite knowing what to say. As if to save her the trouble from starting, Jace interrupted the silence.

"Isabelle, I think I speak for all of us when I say, what the hell is going on? What are you doing? How could you possibly think that demon hunting on your own was a smart decision?"

She gripped the arms of the chair. Her knuckles turned stark white. She could feel the anger that had plagued her since Max's death pulsating beneath the surface. Jace had always been the best at fighting but she had bested him occasionally at practice. But she couldn't fight him. He was just concerned. She reminded herself he was only being this way because he loved her.

"Jace, everyone. I know you're all concerned and I appreciate that. I really do. Unfortunately, I can't really tell you anything. You never should have seen me the way I came in. Normally you're all asleep or at Magnus'."

Alec was perched on the edge of the couch with his face buried in his palms. He sighed and then dragged his hands down his face. They stopped as the tips of his middle fingers touched the edge of his chin. His hands remained together as if he was praying. He paused for a moment and then sighed deeply.

"Iz," he said gently. "Iz, this has to stop. The partying, the wild behavior, the recklessness. It isn't healthy. I know you;re grieving...We all are. But this isn't the way to do it."

"Alec!" Isabelle retorted sharply. "Yes, I'm grieving for Max as I will until the day I die. However, this isn't because of him."

She widened her gaze to the rest of them.

"I know you don't understand. I wouldn't understand either. This is jut something I have to do."

"Isabelle, I may not have known you for as long as your brothers but in the time we've known each other you've come to be as a sister to me. If you we're seriously hurt or even killed it... I'd be just as crushed as everyone else. If you can't stop for you, can you stup for us?" Magnus looked pleadingly at her. She looked away.

"Please," spoke Clary.

This had been touching at first, but now she was starting to get pissed. They were treating her as if she was a child.

_God, if only they knew what I'd done in the past weeks. They'd swallow their tongues. _She thought bitterly.

"I can't. I'm sorry." And with those four words she got up and quickly strode out the door before any of them could block her path.

_I know it's wrong to think like this... but I can't help feeling proud that the Clave asked me to do this. They could've asked my parents or any other dozens of Shadow Hunters but they picked me. _

She bound towards her room before remembering her need for information on the Greater Demon she was hunting. She silently swore. She stood in the corridor for a moment, debating whether to go back to the library or not. She decided that if it was free of people she would pursue the info, otherwise she would come back later. She needed the knowledge as soon as possible. As she reached the library door she reached out and quietly pulled the door open. She peeked in. It was empty.

Alec caught his breath as he heard someone enter the library. He was behind the shelves toward the back of the room. He glimpsed through the crack between the tops of the books and the bottom of the next shelf up. It was Izzy. He stayed silent, figuring he might be able to gleen some data as to what the hell was up with her.

"κακό χώρου" Isabelle murmured, walking over to a section of manuscripts.

Alec recognized the garbled sound as Greek. All Shadow Hunters were required to learn Greek at a young age. However, it took him a moment to pull a translation from his memory...Evil Incarnate. It sounded familiar.

_Wait, that's a Greater Demon. What is Isabelle doing looking up a Greater Demon?_

Isabelle clapped her hand over her mouth, trying to quiet the gargled shriek that escaped her lips.

_DAMN IT. There's nothing. Nothing at all. I'll have to seek out the Silent Brothers. If the institute had any info, it would've been in these books. Tomorrow, er, later today I'll send them a fire message letting them know I'm coming. That oughta be fun, explaining my absince to Alec. He'll probably think I'm off for my latest crack binge. _

She threw herself down on the couch closest to the shelves. She let out a sob. She took a deep, quivering breath trying to calm herself. It didn't work. She let out an anguished moan as tears streamed down her cheeks. She sobbed silently, but with sorrow that racked her body with shudders.

_I can't do this anymore. All this pressure. And Max. Oh god, Max. And Simon, that bastard, Angel help me I love him. NO! I can't afford to think like this now._

As the shuddering stopped, she slowly stood. She used her sleeves to wipe the tears from her face. She shuffled towards the door and down the hallway, entering her room with a sigh of relief and sank into the softness of her bed, allowing herself a short reprieve from her pain.

Back in the library, Alec paced, frustrated. His sister was in so much pain, that much was clear. What could he do?

_How can I help her?_


End file.
